How To Soundproof A Room From Outside Noise

by Jennifer Porterfield | Last Updated: July 4, 2023

When you first view a house, you do not really experience it in full. This is why it often isn’t until you have moved into the house that you will realize that there are noise issues.

Houses are built to reduce the noise between two houses, but often these attempts aren’t successful.

Even a house with plenty of insulation can still have noise from outside the home penetrating through the walls, and this can cause a lot of frustration. 

If you have moved into a new home, only to find that you can clearly hear your neighbors chatting in the front yard, or cars driving past on the road outside, you are probably looking for ways to soundproof your home.

This might be especially important if you need a quieter room, for a home office or sound studio. But how do you soundproof a room from outside noise? In this guide, we’ll find out. 

Can You Soundproof A House From Outside Noise?

If you suffer from outside noise entering your home, then you will be pleased to hear that it is possible to soundproof your home from outside noise. Not all methods will work for this because it will depend on how the noise is entering your home.

But, there are lots of different methods that you can try out, and this means that you will almost always be able to block out the noise that is penetrating your home. 

In a lot of ways, soundproofing your home from outside noise is a lot easier than soundproofing a room from noise inside your home. This is because the majority of soundproofing techniques are designed with this purpose in mind.

However, when it comes to soundproofing, you need to be patient. In a lot of cases, one method alone will not be enough to fix the problem, you will have to use trial and error, and a couple of methods to solve the problem.

But, you will eventually find the method that works perfectly for you. So, with no further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best methods for soundproofing a room from outside noise. 

Method One: Add Extra Insulation To The Room

When you first hear “insulation”, you will probably think of fabric insulation that is stuffed into stud walls, or the spray insulation that they use on the Property Brothers: Double Down. But, this isn’t necessarily the only insulation that exists.

Both of these types of insulation are used to reduce heat escaping from your home and cold entering your home, they are not designed to reduce noise.

But, there are insulation methods which can be used that will reduce the noise entering your home. 

The best areas to target if you live in an apartment block are the ceiling and the floors. This means that your room will be protected from the noise of your upstairs and downstairs neighbors.

In terms of flooring insulation, the best method to use is carpet. You can add a single carpet/rug, but this likely will not be that effective.

Instead, you should layer the carpets, as this will significantly reduce the amount of noise that penetrates your home. On the ceiling, you should invest in soundproof padding. This normally comes in rolls, and it can be stuck to the ceiling.

Again, if you need to soundproof even further, you should add an extra layer of insulation to the ceiling. But what about the walls? Let’s take a look. 

Method Two: Re-Decorate The Room

The next method that we would recommend is re-decorating. This can seem like a strange technique because surely a coat of paint won’t soundproof the room, right?

Wrong! As long as you re-decorate with the right materials, you will be able to have a whole new room, and it will be soundproofed too. So, let’s take a look at some of the materials that you might need to use. 

You can begin with the method that we just looked at. Add some new carpet/rugs on top of the existing flooring in your home, and add insulation to the ceiling. Then you can move onto the walls.

You have a couple of options when it comes to this as you can get both soundproof wallpaper, and soundproof paint. These items are more expensive than regular paint/wallpaper, but they will do the job perfectly.

Once you have painted, you can then move onto accessories. If you struggle with outside noise entering your home through the windows, then you can invest in a set of soundproof curtains.

Once you have put them up, your room should be significantly more soundproof than it was to start. 

Method Three: Strategic Furniture Placement

Finally, you can further soundproof your room by strategically placing furniture within it. Some furniture is excellent at absorbing noise, so you can actually use the furniture to help soundproof your room.

The best materials for the job include suede, corduroy, and microfiber.

The design of this material means that the noise is absorbed into the fabric, so if you want to soundproof your room without investing in heavy soundproofing materials, this could be a great choice for you. 

Once you have chosen your furniture, you should then consider where to place it in your room. Once outside noise penetrates into your room, it bounces around, and this is why the noise is able to be so loud.

But, if you place your furniture so that it obstructs bounce points, you will be able to reduce the amount of noise that enters your room.

Place furniture up against noisy walls, such as a bookcase, and place your bed/sofa so that it blocks another wall.

If the sound cannot bounce off of the walls, the amount of noise that you hear inside the room will reduce significantly, sufficiently soundproofing the room from outside noise. 

Summary

In short, soundproofing a room from outside noise isn’t actually as difficult as you might expect. As you can see, there are lots of different methods that you can use to do this.

This means that there is a very good chance that you will be able to block the outside noise from your home, and live peacefully once the job is done.

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